The present invention relates to a mounting arrangement for holding two separable, mating parts securely locked together and permitting one part to be assembled to the other with one hand. A fixed mounting part has linear cam like ramps or wedges oriented so that when mating the parts, mating linear cam like ramps or wedges on a removable part are placed on the linear ramps on the fixed part, and the removable part is slid in a first direction. The linear ramps act to move the parts together to seat the removable part so it is locked in place. Initially a spring provides a force to slide the linear ramps or wedges together and hold the parts in an initial position, and subsequently the removable part is manually tightened into position.
In many hard to reach areas, particularly in aircraft, it is necessary to provide removable components such as circuit housings, or transducers, that mate with fixed components. The mating parts must be accurately seated and reliably secured. Because of limited space, access to many areas is so limited that only one hand can be used for installation or removal of the removable part. Because of the need for proper alignment of ports or connections and tight sealing, and because the installation may well be xe2x80x9cblindxe2x80x9d, screw on connections are not fully satisfactory because the rotational position cannot be easily observed.
Reliable, accurate and secure mounting of a removable part or component using only one hand is needed.
The present invention provides a mounting arrangement for mounting a removable part or component to a mating fixed part using only one hand. Mating linear ramps or wedges are provided on the two parts. In a first position the mating linear ramps or wedges on the removable (or movable) part are positioned so the linear ramps on the two parts will move past each other when the removable part is slid laterally so the ramps are at least partially overlapping. The removable part ramps will be supported on the fixed ramps. As shown, a slide frame is fixed to the removable part and carries the ramps for that part, and the slide frame fits around at least a portion of the fixed part. After initial assembly, a clamp screw on the slide frame acts against a pusher engaging the fixed part to slide the frame and movable ramps or wedges along the fixed ramps or wedges to clamp the two parts together.
For initial assembly, if desired, a spring acting between the pusher and slide frame is compressed so the slide frame can be shifted to permit the removable part to be placed in position where the ramps on the removable part can slip by the fixed ramps. The removable part is then moved toward the fixed part so the ramps on the slide frame are at a level to permit overlapping the ramps on the fixed part. When the removable part is released the spring will urge the ramps to slide into registry and when the surfaces of the movable and fixed ramps overlap and engage, the removable part is supported on. the fixed part in a partially assembled position. The removable part is held in position by the spring force, so the one hand holding the removable part, can be moved, while the parts remain in a partially assembled position. The clamp screw is then operated with one hand to pull the movable component or part laterally. The ramps on the slide frame slide along the fixed ramps so that the parts are moved together by the ramping or camming action. The clamp screw is used to clamp and lock the parts together.
A user thus can attach a removable component or part to a flange or other fixed component or part with considerable clamping and holding force while using only one hand. The mounting mechanism is useful in many applications where blind or hard to access mounting locations do not allow a person installing the removable component or part to use both hands, and further is useful where high clamping force may be required to hold the parts assembled.